the sweetest con [d.m]

five

"Easton, please—"

"It's final, Mavi!" He throws up his hands, his voice booming through the flat. "I'm going out with my friends."

She gives him a pleading look. "Nezryn isn't free tonight and neither am I. There'll be no one to look after—"

"He's fine!" He's already grabbing his coat, shrugging it on. "All he does is sleep anyway."

"You know we can't leave him," she begs, staggering to block the door as he swipes his keys off the counter. "He'll—"

"No, Mavi. You can't leave him. I can." He shoves her out of the way with enough force that she goes stumbling into the counter, banging her hip hard against the counter. "He's your fucking dad. Not mine."

With that, he slams the door behind him, making the thin walls of the flat shake. Mavi stares at him for a long time afterwards and then fumbles for her wand, holding back tears.

She tries to conjure her Patronus and fails. She tries again — but all she receives for her effort is a non-committal wisp of white that quickly fades out.

Sinking to the floor, she rubs her bruised hip and looks down at her wand in her hands, turning the wood over in her palms.

With the debt from her education and the cost of her father's medicines plus the rent for this flat and Easton's expenses (all of which she's paying for), she really doesn't know how she'll survive the month, let alone the year.

And she doesn't want Draco to think she's slacking off while he pays her for working.

Shutting her eyes, she forces herself to take deep breaths. Focuses on making her mind blank, to subdue the panic that's started to creep in. She's gotten this far on her own. She'll figure the rest out too.

Mavi squeezes the wand in her hand and thinks of the smell of red apples and berries. Gentle fingers through her hair, a soft voice singing — and then she conjures her Patronus.

A small field mouse blinks back at her, standing on its hind legs, waiting expectantly. She'd always hated how her Patronus was a field mouse — meek and quiet like her. She'd always wanted to be something wild and earth-shattering — like a lion, a dragon, maybe even a stallion.

"Draco, it's Mavi. I'm really sorry but I won't be able to make it home tonight. I'm not—I'm not slacking off, I swear. I'm not out partying or anything, I just—" She pauses, struggling to form thoughts. "Something came up at home and I need to be here because no one else is. I know it's Monday and I'm supposed to be at the manor because I was just here at my flat yesterday but—but please believe me when I say I wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't necessary. I'm really, really sorry. I promise I'll stay back next week to make up for it."

The field mouse bounds away, vanishing into thin air a moment later and Mavi sighs, getting to her feet once more.

Will he cut her salary for the month? Will he fire her? She hasn't even touched Astoria's things for a week now and she's sure he knows it. He'll probably be upset with her. Maybe he'll scold her for her lack of professionalism once she's back—

The air shimmers and a wolf appears on her living room floor, snowy white with glowing cobalt eyes.

And it speaks three words and three words only.

"Where are you?"

———

He raises his fist and knocks, frowning at the door like that can make it open for him.

She sounded panicked. And in pain. Like she'd been crying. That didn't sit well with him.

"You really didn't have to—" She's already speaking even as she opens the door. "You didn't have to come all the way here."